Just Be Us
by applestoalways47
Summary: Spoilers for 5x04. Post-phone call from Ryan. Will their relationship be the only secret revealed? A little bit of angst, but mostly Caskett fluff. One-Shot.


**Hey, guys. I know I haven't written in a while, but junior year's a little hectic. I absolutely lurrrrrve the new season, and the Hamptons episode made me flail before, during, and after my death by fangirling, so I felt compelled to write a fic about it. **

**This starts after Castle's phone conversion with Ryan, who has become aware of the relationship.**

**Disclaimer:** Castle is not mine, but when I become an adopted child of MilMar, I may inherit it someday, or at least finagle myself onto the writing staff.

**Just Be Us**

Castle pressed his lips into a thin line and ended the call from Ryan. Something in the uncharacteristic smugness of the detective's voice told him that Ryan knew more than he was letting on.

He turned to Kate and saw that she had come to the same conclusion. She was wearing that adorable cover-up that had ended up covering absolutely nothing the other night…until some dead guy decided to clamber up the beach and deposit himself in Castle's pool. She was so beautiful, but a face of panic and consternation blemished her features.

Kate sucked in her bottom lip, locking it with her teeth and throwing away the key. It wasn't the wanton, provocative lip-bite Rick had grown to love; it was an action propelled by fear, a feeling most evident in her hazel eyes. Her fingers fisted the bedding, and her eyes pleaded with him, imploring him to tell her that their secret was still safe.

"Castle," she breathed, her voice shaky and uncertain.

"Kate, it's okay," Castle cooed, untangling her fingers from the sheets, interlocking them with hers and sitting them both down on the bed. She sniffled, because Kate Beckett does not cry over frivolous relationship issues. But this wasn't just a minor spat about who would do the dishes; this was their precious, secret romance being revealed.

"We don't know that Ryan knows," Castle continued. "We don't even know if anyone knows—"

"Besides your mom and Alexis," Kate interjected irritably. "You were just fine letting that slip."

She regretted the words as soon as she said them. She shut her eyelids and sucked in a breath through her teeth. That hadn't been his fault.

His hands released hers and rested in his lap, and his eyes flickered shamefully downward. She dipped her head, trying to find them with her own hazel orbs, but he turned away.

"Castle, look, I…I didn't mean that," she began. "I know Martha walked in on us that first morning, and you have such a close relationship with Alexis that it would make sense for you to tell her. I'm sorry, Rick. I'm sorry."

One of her hands reclaimed one of his, and the other swept the floppy strands of hair off of his forehead as she continued in her quest to find his eyes with hers.

He leaned into her touch, and she stroked his temple with her thumb. He lifted his head and met her gaze for a brief moment before fixating on their joined hands, and his attempt at crinkled half-smile showed her that the sting was starting to fade.

"It's just…" Kate started, "Well, if Ryan knows, then he'll spill to Esposito because of their deranged mission to hunt down my mystery boyfriend, and Esposito will tell Lanie so she'll hate me more than she pretends to hate him, and then someone will let it slip in the precinct within earshot of Gates—"

Castle's finger stopped her lips mid-ramble, and she close her eyes both in frustration at herself and serenity at his touch, a cruel paradox of loveliness and irritation. Castle was constantly irritating, but she loved him anyway, so the reaction was befitting.

"Kate, I'm having a weird sense of déjà vu, here," Castle quipped, recalling their conversation on their way to the Wendy Dupree crime scene. He removed his finger from her lips and slid his hand to cup her cheek, returning her gentle touch from earlier by gliding his thumb over her temple. She tilted her head to ghost a kiss across his palm, covering his hand with hers and holding it there, replacing the worry in her head with warmth.

"Well, even if Ryan does know," Castle began, "our secret had to come out sometime, right? We can only keep it for so long. Pretty soon, handshakes aren't gonna be enough for me in the precinct anymore."

Kate huffed a laugh through her slim hint of a smile at his broad grin and waggling eyebrows. He always knew how and when to lighten the mood.

She lifted her eyes to his and took both of his hands. "You're right, Castle," she replied. "We couldn't keep it just us forever. I mean, how weird would it be if we got married and nobody had any idea we'd been dating?"

His eyes beamed at her, his mouth gaping wider than a codfish's before his features softened and his lips spread into a wide, shit-eating grin.

"You want to marry me."

It wasn't a question. She'd said it herself. They were going to get married.

It was Beckett's turn to gawk now. Her words, even her brain, all coherent thought, had left her. Had she said that out loud? Well, of course she wanted to marry him; she loved him! But…she hadn't told him yet.

"I…was just creating a scenario in which the possibility of—"

His mouth sealed her lips with a kiss this time, releasing them quickly with an audible smack.

"You want to marry me, you want to marry me," he sing-songed, and she slapped him on the shoulder.

"Shut up and stop distracting me," she snapped half-heartedly, but not out of malice. He could be such a child sometimes. Scratch that, all the time.

"Seriously, though," she continued, "What are we going to do when we get back home? I haven't even told my dad, and if we tell everyone, then we'll have to tell Gates, and we might not get to work with each other anymore. Working with you is how I fell in love with you, and if I lost that—"

His lips came crashing onto hers in a passionate kiss completely unlike the playful peck from earlier. His hands cupped her cheeks, then slid down to grasp her waist. He laid them back on the bed, and her hands fisted in his hair as his fisted in the sheets.

They reluctantly broke apart for air, and as soon as Kate had caught her breath, Castle leaned down again for a kiss with just as much passion but not as much pace, languidly caressing her lips with his own. He tilted his forehead to rest against hers, sliding his hands down her arms to interlace their fingers.

"I thought I told you to stop distracting me," she huffed jokingly.

But Rick's serious gaze never wavered, and Kate's features sobered at his solemnity.

"You're in love with me."

It was another statement, but one without an air of teasing. His blue eyes displayed more happiness than his elated smile could ever show, and Kate's face mirrored his as she nodded, her eyes flickering to his lips before capturing them with hers once more.

"And you're in love with me," she replied once their lips had unlocked. He nodded like she had, thoughtful and sincere. Save for their witty banter, and despite Castle's way with words, their language had always been almost entirely bodily. Their eyes always reflected the words they said and didn't say, and their complicated relationship needed all the simplicity it could get.

"So here's my idea of how to go about this," Castle started. Kate raised her eyebrows in an "oh really" fashion, wondering what convoluted plan he had concocted this time.

"I suggest that while we're out here still enjoying our vacation, albeit while solving a murder, we can spend this weekend only thinking about each other. We won't worry about Ryan and Espo and Lanie and your dad and everyone else knowing about us. We'll just…be us."

"I think I can handle that," Kate replied with a smile before reclaiming his lips once more.

**So there you have it! Just a little corny fluff with a tidbit of angst thrown in to expel my uncontrollable fangirling. Review if you so desire :)**


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